We have 1 knitter and 2 crocheters in the house who all share yarn like crazy, and inevitably yarns get tangled with all the digging around in boxes and bins (We have about 12 storage bozes full of yarn between us). My mother & grandmother in law always sit and stare at me as I untangle masses of differnt yarns, and no matter how many times I do it, they still are suprised that I have that much patientence (not very patient with much else). To me, it's relaxing. I like being able to tidy everything up and make it neat again.

Month 2 of the no - new - yarn diet!!!! Plus month 2 of the no more soda diet, guess which one is going better?

count me in!! I am an untangler also. I've even been known to confiscate yarn from the women in my knitting group and untangle it for them. They don't even have to ask first. I haven't resorted to digging through bags and looking for tangled yarn......yet. For now, I am content to grab it when it makes an appearance on or near the table.

Would any of you do a mail-order untangling service perhaps?? I would have to be the world's worst untangler. It was only yesterday that I resorted to scissors, and mid project too! I know it's shameful, but I am so amazingly rubbish at sorting them out. I am so envious of the patience that you all seem to possess.

I hate untangling yarn, probably because I end up having to do it at least every other project! I have been lucky, however, to be in a knitting group with two people who have offered to untangle yarn for me and for that I'm grateful!

What I find so amazing is that I am NOT generally a terribly patient person (but not awful!), BUT.....I can spend a great deal of time untangling yarn without the least inkling of impatience! There must be some psychological soothing that takes place just to be handling the yarn. I'm also a saver and recycler, so from that perspective I hate to waste anything. Even the tangled yarns that I give up on are used for my hang-tags or donated to a friend who works with the homeless on artistic endeavors.

I'm also not a patient person but I like detangling yarn! I don't go out of my way to do it, but it's not a chore. Maybe it's the sense of satisfaction of fixing a mess, or maybe it's just that it's soothing to sit and quietly handle fibers - the nature of detangling forces you to be slow and focused. And like Clara, sometimes I don't bother pulling out the swift and just wind yarn off my lap - my own knees were my only swift for many years.

I wouldn't say that I LOVE untangling, but I don't really hate it either. Reading these posts reminds me of being on the ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland untangling an apparently endless skein of yarn with the help of my husband, who is an incredibly patient person. It's a long ferry ride, and we used just about all of it!

AMEN MrsD1 that is EXACTLY how I feel about unknotting! And no, I do not care for weaving in ends.......not the same for me either. I used to work in a jewelry shop a thousand years ago and couldn't wait to get to all the necklaces and bracelets that were tangled. I actually felt I was doing a service to the shop because I think they just dumped them in a pile and either what? Threw them out or sent them back to the manufacturer??? Whatever.....to me untangeling is pure therapy! Who knew there were so many of us?

I can't say I'm crazy about untangling, but I'll do it rather than waste yarn. What I REALLY love is winding yarn into balls. It may be my favorite part of the whole knitting process.

I was rewatching Anne of Green Gables recently (maybe Anne of Avonlea? -- both in my top 10 best movies) and Marilla was sitting on the porch winding a ball of yarn. I had to chuckle because it looked like Colleen Dewhurst, the actress, had never wound a ball of yarn in her life. :o)

Nope. I will avoid putting scissors to the yarn at all costs. I will dredge up the patience to untangle for as long as I can to avoid cutting. If that doesn't work, I call out the 2nd oldest daughter who has a knack and the patience for the chore. I've only admitted defeat and cut the knot out maybe once or twice. I remember in particular some fingering weight alpaca/silk from Elann. I had knit it doubled and in the frogging it got hopelessly tangled. I salvaged most of it. I still haven't found the right project for that yarn, now I think about it.

I get quite a lot out of unraveling tangled yarn. Aside from the fact that I've bought expensive yarn for a much cheaper price due to tangles, how many things in life require concentration and are mindless at the same time, giving me time to think about other things[meow]

I like to untangle yarn and I don't know why. I used to work part-time at a costume jewlery counter and I could stand there for hours and untangle all the necklaces. To me its like a puzzle and my left brain couldn't get enough. The enjoyment comes from a more analytic perspective and of course the joy that I can now use my once tangled mess to knit with.

What a fun thread(yarn?)! It must be a getting older thing. As a younger knitter, I had no patience whatever with tangles. After 5 minutes, the scissors came out. Now, I can happily sit for as long as it takes to get the knots out. Same with necklaces, shoelaces, and any other tangles I find!